Knock, Knock

Knock, Knock.

Who's there?

Orange.

Orange, who?

Orange you excited a baby is coming?

My sister-in-law is having a baby in April and I wanted to throw her a little shower for her family and a few friends. Unfortunately, we picked a day when none of the family could come. But her friends brought their kiddos, and had a very nice play date and lunch. I have found parties to be an ever growing "hobby" of mine that I very much enjoy. Here are a few of the details I had a lot of fun doing.

The "Orange You Excited?" banner.

I made a little banner with the scraps for the mantel.

My sister has a small collection of pitchers with oranges on them that I used as vases.

On the table, I put I different citrus candies in mason jars; lime lollipops, candied orange slices, lemon drops, and candied grapefruit slices.

For lunch the guests built their own salads from the toppings I put out; strawberries, mandarin oranges, grilled chicken, avocado, grapefruit, Gorgonzola cheese, and candied walnuts.

For dessert we had key lime yogurt pies.

I forgot to take pictures of the water bottles at the party, but here are a few of the extras. I had planned to give each cookies and jelly to take home, but when the guest list dwindled, and I lost my kitchen, I had to come up with a simple parting gift. The soda-pop was a last minute addition. It was a simple, relaxing gathering. We can't wait to meet Vizon number six next month!

School Is In Session

This past Saturday my sister threw her best friend a baby shower and I got to help out. As I have mentioned before we love to throw parties. Rachel is wonderfully creative and we often feed off of each other with ideas. This shower was a Back to School theme. Tawni is a fourth grade elementary school teacher and loved the idea.

Below are some of the photos from the day.

Rachel made the invitations to look like a chalkboard and the inside warned guests not to be tardy.

I made the flower vases using water bottles, crayons, and a little hot glue.

The schedule was displayed for the guests to see when they arrived.

We had carrots and dip for snack time.

Rachel put alphabet paper and buses on mini water bottles.

We served lunch in paper bags with each guests name on it; peanut butter and jelly, go-gurt, chips, apple slices, and a little can of coke.

Tawni opened gifts during Show and Tell. This is Tawni's second boy, so I wrote a little poem for the inviation:


As Tawni prepares to raise two boys,
She does not need many clothes or toys.
For items she needs just take a look,
But when in doubt just bring a book!
Animals that talk and history too,
Any storybook with pictures will do.
Let's fill up the shelf with books they need,
To teach the little ones to love to read!



Rachel did a great job with dessert. We put out a platter of cookies and she served milk in mini milk bottles with striped straws.

Below is by far my favorite thing at the shower. Rachel made alphabet flash cards to display. Now granted, she will eventually use them in Caleb's bedroom, but they were a great addition to the party. She once again used her trusty Cricket machine. The Cricket may be nifty and handy, but it sure doesn't make things quicker. I know this project took quite a while.

I loved them so much, I have asked Rachel to make Lily a set for Christmas.


To thank each guest for coming, we sent each one home with a homemade carmel apple.


Congratulations Tawni - we can't wait to hear the name you have chosen for your second little blessing.

Shower #2

Last month Rachel threw Baby and me a shower. We invited our family and friends from work. Rachel made beautiful invitations and everything was Bumble Bee themed.My mother-in-law made lemonade from lemons from her backyard; it might be my favorite.



We dipped pretzels for the candy bar.


For gifts for the guests, Rachel put out different themed candies for each person to make a good bag. She had candies that matched the colors; Abba Zabbas, lemon heads, dipped pretzels and marshmallows, licorice, and salt water taffy. My mom made hard candy suckers with little bees on them. Rachel also bought Bit O Honey and Atkinson candies. Who knew Atkinson had a whole line of candies?

Rachel's boss makes wonderful butter cream frosting and was kind enough to make cupcakes for the party. There were bee hives and flowers, each with a sugar bee. The were beautiful and tasty to boot!

The food was wonderful!

Rachel put together one game (games aren't usually my favorite). It's a form of the Price Is Right. She bought all kinds of things from Target and we had to guess the price. It was fun and entertaining and the best part was that I got to keep everything!

Bethany hanging out with the new teddy.

I am explaining how the Snap N Go stroller works.

Once again, I am in awe of the generosity of our friends and family. Thank you all.

Shower #1

Bethany threw Baby and me a beautiful brunch last month. She made blueberry french toast, mini egg souffles, and an elaborate fruit spread. Friends and their little ones came out to help me prepare for our little addition. There were 6 little ones in all! Our friends were so generous with their gifts and we are so blessed by them. We received many books to start our family library of children's books. My family always read books growing up, and I am excited to read to our little one.

Here are a few pictures from the day. Sorry they are all of me; I didn't take any pictures of my own.

Toni holding Riley and part of the beautiful food table.

I am reading a book from Katie to the girls.

Baby Shower

Last month we got to help Rachel prepare for Baby #2 with a little shower. I would post pictures and tell you all about it, but Rachel has already wrote about it on her blog. And she is such a better blogger than I. Not only is she a great blogger, she knows how to throw a party. Even though the theme of this shower was my idea (stolen from blog stalking), Rachel's small details made it all come together. Head on over the Rachel's blog to see the pictures from our little tractor party.